quinta-feira, 28 de março de 2013

Maundy Thursday commemorates the day of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. The word 'Maundy' comes from the command or 'mandatum' by Christ at the Last Supper, to love one another.

The tradition of the British Sovereign giving money to the poor dates from the thirteenth century. The Sovereign also used to give food and clothing, and even washed the recipients' feet but the last monarch to do so was James II.

The Royal Maundy Service at Westminster Abbey in 1952 was the Queen’s first public engagement as Sovereign. Every year at Easter Queen Elizabeth II presents special 'Maundy money' to local pensioners in a UK cathedral or abbey in recognition of their service to their community and their church.

Since the fifteenth century, the number of Maundy coins handed out, and the number of people receiving the coins, has been related to the Sovereign’s age. This year the Queen distributed "Maundy money" to 87 men and women at a special service in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

The Queen, holding a nosegay (flowers traditionally used in medieval times to ward off bad odours) outside Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford following the traditional Royal Maundy Service, 28 March 2013.

European Best Destination is an initiative of the European Consumers Choice Awards (ECA), a non-profit organization, based in Brussels, now in its 4th year, which promotes tourism and culture in Europe. In 2013 there were 20 participating cities. European citizens just had to vote online from March 1-22.

After winning the first prize in 2010, Lisbon was elected the Second Best European Destination in 2013.

terça-feira, 19 de março de 2013

There are many saints called Joseph, but the greatest of all, of course, is the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus.

Joseph , the son of Jacob, was chosen to be the spouse of Mary when he was 30 years old. According to tradition he died when he was 60 years old, in the year 29 A. D.In Portugal, Father´s Day is on March 19, Saint Joseph´s Day.

quarta-feira, 13 de março de 2013

The cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church have chosen as their new pope a man from almost "the end of the world" - the first non-European pontiff of the modern era and the first-ever member of the Jesuit order.

The new pope, Jorge Bergogolio, who served as archbishop of Buenos Aires, adopted the name Francis shortly after being elected by cardinals. It is the first time this name is used by a pope.

The new pope, revealed himself to the world from a balcony at the Vatican today more than an hour after white smoke poured from the chimney above the Sistine chapel.

Popes in the 20th and 21st centuries

Leo XIII (1878-1903)

Pius X (1903-1914)

Benedict XV (1914-1922)

Pius XI (1922-1939)

Pius XII (1939-1958)

John XXIII (1958-1963)

Paul VI (1963-1978)

John PauI I (1978)

John Paul II (1978-2005)

Benedict XVI (2005-2013)

Francis (2013- )

References:

Duffy. Eamon. Saints and Sinners. A History of the Popes. Yale University Press, 1997

President Eisenhower and Prime Minister Harold MacMillan of Great Britain continued their meetings in Bermuda as the two world leaders discussed opportunities to mend the English-US relations damaged by policy differences in the Middle East.

A British Parliamentary Act signed by Queen Elizabeth II established life imprisonment as the most severe penalty for murder. The debate on whether or not to abolish capital punishment would become a most important issue in countries around the world.

terça-feira, 5 de março de 2013

The Falkland Islands, which are governed by the United Kingdom, lie in the Atlantic Ocean about 500km off the coast of Argentina. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and oil reserves. The islands are also claimed by the Argentinians, who call them the Islas Malvinas. On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. As a result, The United Kingdom sent an expeditionary force to retake the islands. The Falkland Islands announced it would hold a referendum over its political status in early 2013, with the objective of sending "a firm message to Argentina that islanders want to remain British".

On the Caribbean Islands, tourist luxury and local poverty live side by side. The islands were colonized by the Europeans, who took black slaves from Africa to work on the farms. Today the population is a mixture of many peoples. The main languages are English, Spanish and dialects called patois, which are mixtures of African and French or English.